Ancient - Night Visit
After the release of the disappointing Grandiose Mad Bloodfiends album, these guys just seemed to fade into obscurity. Well, that must’ve pissed them off a little, because I’m hearing the best material this Nordic Black Metal horde have penned since 1996’s The Cainian Chronicle. The band have refined their sound so well. For one, there is a lot less fucking around. Not to say there is a total lack of weirdnesssss, but for the most part, everything is tighter, and the album’s flawless production really brings out a razor-sharp heaviness in the riffs, not unlike the feel of Dimmu Borgir’s Death Cult Armageddon LP. An astounding return to form for the band, and it’s nice to have them back. Suggested mix selections: “Rape the Children of Abel,” “Night of the Stygian Souls,” and “The Truth Unveiled.”
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Amaran - Pristine in Bondage
Female vocalist.
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Age of Silence - Acceleration
It used to be when you saw that Hellhammer was playing drums on something, it meant that it was probably going to be cool. Now it’s almost an automatic assurance of gayness. I now fully understand that Agalloch being on this label is a total aberration, they will simply sign anything different and/or weird. Musically this is nauseating Prog Rock with a little Techno and some token heaviness here and there. The singer may have a decent voice, but has the range of a Catholic priest. If I read a single Katatonia comparison anywhere, I will find that journalist and kill him.
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After Forever - Invisible Circles
Debbie Gibson Metal with choirs up the ass. Is the little girl on the cover the singer? I simply cannot tolerate this kind of stuff. There is no power or pain here.
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Acid Drinkers - 15 Screwed Years (video)
I had apparently missed out on all 15 years of the Acid Drinkers so far, and while I’m not crying about that, the band’s sort of goofy take on Thrash (maybe like Destruction if they were just joking around) isn’t terrible. And you do get a lot here, with two complete shows from 1998 and 1995, including covers of Metallica (“Seek and Destroy”), Deep Purple (“Smoke on the Water”), Motorhead (“Ace of Spades” which they absolutely butcher), CCR (“Proud Mary”), and… umm… Monty Python’s “Always Look at the Bright Side of Life.” I think that you can get a lot of information about the band from their choice of songs to cover… Additionally, there are also six video clips, oddly enough two of which are also cover songs (“Proud Mary” again, and “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”), plus two interviews and more. I question how much appeal this DVD will have here in the US, but if you like the band, well, here you go.
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Abyss (Italy) - Consecration of Emptiness
I absolutely love the novelty of receiving a demo to review on cassette. A nostalgic throwback to the time before computer technology completely destroyed the underground. Unfortunately, the band plays an all too below average, generic brand of Black Metal with a drum machine, so I can’t really get behind them on much else. Not to mention they named their band Abyss, so they don’t really know as much about Black Metal as they think.
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Abyss (Spain) - Sin Angeles
Get ready, America! The New Wave of Latino Power Metal campaign is apparently ready to sweep the nation. It won’t be long before you hear bands like Hammerfall and Primal Fear proclaiming in outrage, “They took ‘r’ jobs!!” You see, Hispanic Ass Metal bands are far more proficient and will work for less money. I wonder if all the songs are about Ben Affleck and tacos. A great album to have 10 or 11 kids to. “Took ‘r’ jobs!!” “Derk-a-derr!!”
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Absentia Lunae - Marching Upon Forgotten Ashes
Badly-produced sub par Black Metal with atrocious vocal experimentation. The traditional Blackened vocals are tolerable, but the awkward shouting and barking just obliterate a listening experience which was run-of-the-mill in the first place.
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Abruptum - Casus Luciferi
Let me begin by saying that Casus Luciferi is probably the most listenable Abruptum album to date. That being said, it is also necessary to note that most of Abruptum’s material is essentially unlistenable - their first two albums in particular. This release marks the first outing of the band without founding member It. Evil (aka Morgan from Marduk) is going it alone and as such, the sound of Abruptum has changed considerably. Gone are the sounds of band members being tortured and the insane, almost random song structures. Replacing these elements of the “classic” Abruptum sound are the sounds of militant Industrial and hints of Dark Ambient. Personally, I would have changed the band’s name to reflect the new direction and the fact that none of the original members remain with the band. This is Morgan’s solo militant Industrial project, not Abruptum in the original sense. There is little or no connection between Casus Luciferi and any of the earlier Abruptum albums. Musically, this is OK but not great. There are some interesting ideas here but when you use the name Abruptum, it carries with it a lot of musical baggage. The sound has changed to such a degree that if you threw this on without telling anyone it was Abruptum, they would never guess who it was.
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